1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steering apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly to, a steering apparatus for a vehicle in which a dust cap and an inner cover are easily attached/detached to/from each other so as to improve a repair efficiency of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a steering apparatus for a vehicle to which a dust cover is mounted, according to the related art.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the steering apparatus for a vehicle according to the related art, a lower end of a steering shaft is connected to a gear box 101, and generally, the steering shaft is connected to the gear box 101 while being sloped in a predetermined angle due to surrounding situations. Therefore, the steering apparatus for a vehicle includes an intermediate shaft 107 configured by a universal joint, a tube 103, and a shaft 105, in order to satisfy such conditions.
One side of the intermediate shaft 107 constituting the steering shaft is connected to an upper steering shaft 111 connected to a steering wheel 109, and the other side thereof is connected to the gear box 101, so that a rotational force generated by the steering wheel 109 is transferred to a wheel through the gear box 101.
A steering column 113 includes an outer tube 115, an inner tube 117, and a mounting bracket 119. The outer tube 115 is formed at a side of the steering wheel 109, and the inner tube 117, having a diameter smaller than that of the outer tube 115 to be inserted into the outer tube 115 when an impact is applied, is provided inside of the outer tube 115.
The outer tube 115 and the inner tube 117 correspond to hollow tubes, so that the steering shaft is smoothly rotated.
Meanwhile, a dust cover 123 is used for blocking noise, etc. introduced to an indoor side through an engine room while being fixed to a dash panel 121, and the dust cover 123 includes an upper dust cover 125 mounted to an indoor side with respect to the dash panel 121 and a lower dust cover 127 mounted to an engine room side with respect to the dash panel 121.
Meanwhile, the upper dust cover 125 and the lower dust cover are coupled to each other by a fixing member such as a bolt, etc.. When a repair operation of the gear box 101, etc. is requested, the upper dust cover 125 and the lower dust cover 127 should be necessarily separated from each other. In this case, there is a problem in that, as a time period consumed for a repair operation increases due to a time period consumed for such a separation operation and the number of times of detachment increases, a coupling portion of the fixing member is worn, so that noise is generated due to an interval between the upper dust cover and the lower dust cover.